National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik will speak to a special counsel team this week as a witness in connection with the ongoing investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his attempt to impose martial law in December.

According to political and legal sources on Tuesday, Woo is expected to appear at the special counsel team’s office in southern Seoul on Thursday for questioning.

He will likely be asked about alleged obstruction in the process of the National Assembly’s decision to lift the short-lived martial law decree and in particular, whether the leadership of the People Power Party interfered with the crucial vote.

After Yoon declared martial law on December 3 of last year, Woo scaled the National Assembly fence, moved past police barricades, and managed legislative procedures for 155 minutes until the vote to overturn the former president’s order was completed.

The special counsel team suspects that Choo Kyung-ho, then floor leader of the People Power Party, may have interfered with parliament’s voting process by intentionally changing the venue of a party meeting several times. 

The team said it also secured records of Yoon’s phone calls with Choo and People Power Party Rep. Na Kyung-won about an hour after martial law was imposed.

In a statement, Woo revealed that he decided to cooperate and appear in person for the questioning out of respect for the special counsel team and its mission, and to support efforts to find the truth.